Cumberland Mayor Takes Some Downtown Businesses To Task

Cumberland Mayor Brian Grim has taken some of the downtown business owners to task via a post on his Facebook page. The mayor expressed disappointment and frustration with a number of the downtown businesses for having limited operating hours- particularly during the holiday season. Grim’s four sentence commentary said he finds it frustrating to see so many stores and restaurants in the downtown area closed, adding that it is not hard to see why some of them are struggling when they choose to close even during the special “Midnight Madness” holiday shopping event held last week. He said their closures hurt all of the downtown businesses, and especially those people who have worked hard to make Downtown Cumberland a success. He closed by saying “shame on those who close their doors when there are shoppers strolling the mall, willing to buy everything from a cup of coffee to a piece of jewelry”

The real shame in Cumberland is that we have a Mayor who thinks that advertising getting your hands dirty to clean up Cumberland is an enticement to community pride.

If the Mayor had ever taken the initiative to be an independent business owner, as opposed to making his career as a professional public employee, he might have a greater understanding of the complexities of running your own independent business and be a bit more understanding before making such scathing remarks.

It’s, yet, another example of the level of immaturity on display,currently, at the Executive Level of City Government.

My husband and I drove past downtown last eve. and both commented on how it was so desolate when years ago it would have been packed with shoppers. It was a wonderful vision, remembering the downtown of our youth, it is a shame we can’t find a way to get it back to that.